The Long Road Ahead
by K-Wolfy
Summary: Day by day, you'll find out exactly what happened in Cedar Falls - a mission gone wrong, unrequited love, misplaced anger, unveiled secrets and history revealing itself. With the long road ahead, nothing is ever easy with this lot.
1. Chapter 1

**The Long Road Ahead**

 **CHAPTER ONE**

 _I honestly don't know what to write about what happened in the last couple of weeks. No words could completely describe what went on but I suppose I will give it go. Let's start with before we all left for Cedar Falls. It didn't used to be called that as it was changed to hide its secrets. My secrets believe it or not. I know, I was surprised too._

 _I have never heard of Cedar Falls until I got the call that was filled of frantic girly screams about having a great time, drinking and dancing on a holiday. I was sat on the other line for, at least, two to three minutes in silence until Amy calmed down from all her excitement. I told her to take a few breaths before explaining what the hell is going on. All I got was: "Holiday. Cedar Falls. Five weeks. Sonic. Rouge. Shadow. Tails. Cream."_

 _I really didn't get a say in whether I was going to join them or not. I didn't get a word in edge wise. I did go as you're readying whatever this is._

 _Let's get this over with, shall we?_

 ** _DAY ONE_**

Kiera leant against the clean, white porch pillar. She stared blankly as her friends packed their suitcases and all the equipment they needed into three Chrysler Minivans. There were ten of them as a group and the minivans hold seven each but the last two seats were needed for luggage. They decided to spread out over three minivans. They had a lot of things and they would be spending a few long months away from the home they knew but would return to, eventually.

Most of their things were in the third minivan in which she would be driving. Kiera volunteered for the lonely job of driving all by herself at the back. Although, she was hoping to the driving the minivan alone but Shadow said she shouldn't drive all that way by herself especially during the night. No one objected. Kiera didn't really mind his company, they had a few things in common. Their love and protective nature for their family, they were both impulsive, on the spot thinkers but they were also very different. They both didn't mind that either.

She pushed herself off of the porch pillar and walked back into the house. Her small suitcase and bags were beside the door. She only had two. One for her clothes and shoes, and other necessities that she needed for the months ahead. The other held her phone, journal. A few large books to read to pass the time and a drawing pad along with pencils. She grabbed her bag and leant forward to get her suitcase when another hand beat her to it.

"I got that." Shadow said and picked up the suitcase by the handle. She gave him a thankful smile. They stepped down the porch steps and wandered over to the third minivan, opened up the back of the large vehicle and he put her suitcase and bag into it. Shadow shut the back of the minivan with ease and he turned to her.

She looked up at him. "How long now?"

"Under an hour, most likely. They're getting a drink down them before we set off for Cedar Falls." He informed her as he leant against the back of the minivan.

There was something more behind this trip Amy practically threw everyone on. "You know you can't lie to me, right?" He quickly switched confused and blindsided by that question.

"Um, what?" She looked at him as if he was an idiot for keeping something from her.

She sighed. "You wouldn't be going on this 'holiday' on your own free will, especially with Sonic." Shadow was backed up into a corner, he had nowhere to run. She was too smart for her own good. _She would fit right in as an agent_ , he thought.

"Alright, alright. Just keep this to yourself." He warned her.

She stared blankly at him. "Who in the hell am I going to tell, Shadow? The tooth fairy?"

He chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. He did love her wit. "Okay, Kiera. I've been sent on a mission with Rouge to Cedar Falls."

Her auburn eyes narrowed at him. "Of course, you have." Kiera looked back at the house and saw the others were still rushing about up and down the stairs.

She looked back at Shadow. "So, you two are here on a mission for god knows what, leaving me alone with the loved-up couples for five weeks." She threw her head back and groaned in annoyance. She didn't want to be the fifth wheel, sat in the corner and watching Sonic, Amy, Tails and Cream laughing, kissing and cuddling together.

"Great, that's just – great." Kiera mumbled, not entirely happy with the situation she will be in as soon as they land in Cedar Falls.

Shadow gently took hold of her hand to get her attention. "Hey, I won't leave you alone like that. The mission won't take long. I promise." Her eyes found his, and she nodded slightly holding him to that promise.

"Thank you." She mouthed to him.

They both stared at each other, sat in silence but that was interrupted with a yell. "Hey! Help with the bags, you two!" The two of them looked back to the house and saw Rouge and Amy calling them over at the door. Kiera glanced at Shadow, and met his gaze before leaving to help the girls with their bags.

The lads made quick work of putting the suitcases into the minivans. Kiera took her pair of keys and slipped into her own designated minivan. She wanted to just to put the keys in the ignition and drive off but she couldn't. She's sharing the vehicle with Shadow so she'll wait until he gets in the van before driving off. Rouge did volunteer to jump in the car with them but Amy wanted to have her in theirs – so that's how it was.

The passenger door opened and in jumped Shadow, clad in his leather jacket. "We're all set. We are all good to go." Kiera flipped the key in the ignition, put the van in first gear.

"Great."

The two other minivans followed her lead all throughout the day until night hit. Kiera read the sign that they drove passed. She looked over at Shadow for a second. "There's a diner coming up."

Shadow glanced at her with a raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?"

"I can actually read maps, thank you very much." She smirked.

He smiled at her, impressed with her. "Really?" She laughed at him.

"No – well, yeah actually – but I read the sign we just drove past. Now, ring them up to tell them we're stopping off at the diner. I'm hungry, I haven't eaten today," He chuckled, dragging a hand down his face. He pulled out his phone and rang up Amy.

" _Hi, Shadow!_ " She quickly answered the phone.

He began to inform her on the current news. " _Hey, Rose. We're going to stop off at a diner not too far from her. Kiera's getting hungry._ "

" _So are we, actually! I'll call Tails and tell him what happening._ "

He ended the call after. " _Alright, Rose. We'll see you in a bit._ "

"Why didn't you tell me you haven't eaten today?" Her brow furrowed, quite confused.

"My stomach, not yours. Plus, you didn't ask." Kiera justified herself but it wasn't really an answer he liked to begin with. He knows she disregards her health sometimes as she 'forgets' as she says. He doesn't know if its insecurity on her body image or if she does forget to eat every meal. He figured that if he asks that he'll get slapped for insinuating anything to do with her weight so he didn't ask that question at all. He asked Rouge that once and he got an instant elbow to the side – it wasn't pleasant.

"Next time, tell me, please?" He stared at her giving her his 'stern' and 'serious' face, she couldn't see that as she was behind the wheel but she felt it.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. I will."

Kiera smirked as she switched on the left turn signal to turn into the diner's parking lot. "You care about my health." She said, happy that he did.

"Yes, I do. I don't want to lose you to starvation." _Or lose you in general or anyone again,_ he thought as he stared at the rear-view mirror watching the other two minivans follow in suit. Kiera was the closest thing he had to family ever since Maria was taken from him so many years ago – she wasn't Maria at all but at least he had her.

"If you were going to lose me it wouldn't be by starvation. That's boring." She pulled into a spot and she made sure she fit perfectly in there before turning off the engine.

"Kiera." He warned.

She put the handbrake on. "If I did die then it would be by a blaze of glory. I want it to be spectacular, stunning and striking-"

Shadow gripped her hand as it went to unclip her seatbelt. "Kiera." She stopped talking and stared at his and then at him.

"Please, stop." He begged her, he didn't want to keep picturing her death in all these horrific ways.

Instead of being gentle with him, she was brutally honest. "Maybe you should find a different profession so the people who hate you don't come for me so they can hurt you." She ripped her arm from him, getting out the car and slamming the door shut. She left him with the truth. Criminals he put away in the years he was an agent hated him and knew he weakness. His friends and _her_.

They always went after her, they found her, they hurt her. They always hurt her and because of him. He always saved her but he put her in danger all the time. He said he would protect her but he keeps failing her. He failed her.

She was angry at him, and she had every right to be. She could scream at him, hit him and say she hates every fibre of him. He would let her. He deserved all that but she would never do any of that. She bottles everything up until something shakes it up and it all fizzles out in one go. When that happens, he finds her and just holds her as she cries. He doesn't say anything, he just lets her cry it all out.

They all need this holiday and right now, she needs it most of all.

He got out of the minivan and he came face to face with guys and the girls minus Kiera. He shut the passenger door behind him. "Where's Kiera?" Cream asked softly, imaging her to come out of the car after Shadow.

"Inside, most likely. She was really hungry." He made it seem like everything was okay with him and her. The others walked into the diner but Rouge stayed with Shadow.

She glared at him. "What did you say to her this time?" She was protective of Kiera as well. Shadow thought that she saw Kiera as a little sister.

"I didn't say anything."

Her blue eyes narrowed at him. "Right." They walked into the diner and found the others at a booth getting ordered. It was full round of burgers and fries, plus a ton of milkshakes. They devoured them and Kiera didn't say a word other than 'please' and 'thank you' – she still had manners after all.

All of them headed back to the minivans after paying for their meals. Shadow pulled Kiera aside before leaving. "I know you're angry at me."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not angry at you. I can't be angry at you which is incredibly annoying." He smiled at her, secretly liking that she has a soft spot for him.

She pushed the van's keys to his chest. "You're driving." Kiera jumped into the passenger seat. Shadow hopped into the driver's seat and guided the others all the way to Cedar Falls. Kiera leant her head against the glass of the minivans window as the music coming from the radio filled the silence between the two of them. A slow and tender song came on which made her fall asleep. Shadow didn't disturb her and wouldn't until they reached the house they're renting in Cedar Falls. She needed the sleep and she looked kind of cute.

Shadow turned the high-beams on so he could see exactly where he was driving. He found the sign for the house and followed the road all the way up to the house. From what he could see, it was quite a big house and would certainly fit all of them in there. He parked up near the house and the others parked on either side of his minivan. He turned off the engine, putting the handbrake up and looked over at Kiera. He didn't want to wake her up but he didn't have to just yet.

He got out of the minivan and walked to the back of the vehicle. Opening the boot, he pulled out the suitcases and bags they've brought and carried them all to the front door of the house. Sonic did the same with his, Amy's and Rouge's bags. Tails brought Cream's bags and his own to the porch steps so they can tell which ones are whose.

Rouge asked the question everyone was thinking. "So, what's happening with the beds?"

Amy piped up with the answer. "When I booked the house, I made sure there were enough rooms for us all separately just in case we end up hating each other."

"I think that's already started." Shadow smirked.

Sonic laughed. "You love me really."

That smirked dropped quickly. "You can fuck off."

"Rooms?" Rouge brought them back.

Amy nodded. "Right. So, there is a king size bed in the attic, three bedrooms with double beds upstairs and two bedrooms with single beds on the ground floor."

Shadow already knew which one Kiera would want. "Attic is off limits."

"For your girlfriend, I assume?" Sonic grinned but that dropped when Rouge hit him in his side.

She glared at him. "Kiera is having the attic. The couples will take the double beds. Me and Shadow can flip a coin for the extra double bed."

"You can have it. I'm fine with a single bed." Shadow shrugged, lifting Kiera's bags and carrying them all the way to the attic. It was nice up here, full of neutral colours plus a desk with a bookshelf right next to it. Kiera loves her books and sleep. He lay her suitcase and bags at the end of her bed on the floor, then going all the way downstairs and out of the house to wake her up.

Shadow opened the passenger door and his eyes widen when Kiera nearly fell out, he forgot that she was leaning against the door. He quickly grabbed hold of her before anything bad happened. She groaned, her eyes slowly fluttering open. "What are you doing?" She mumbled, blinking a few times to come to terms at where she was exactly.

"We have arrived at Cedar Falls, and I'm getting you up to your room so you can sleep." She slowly took in what he was saying and just nodded, pushing herself out of the minivan.

She got her footing. "Guide me to my room then, you got my stuff there, right?" Kiera looked up at him after wiping the sleep from her eyes.

"Yeah, I did." He brought her up to her bedroom in the attic.

She mumbled her thanks. "I'll check up on you in a bit, alright?" He told her and she nodded. He left her to get settled with her new bedroom for the next five weeks.

Kiera opened her suitcase up and began to unpack all her clothes. She did notice all the dark colours of her wardrobe, she shrugged it off. She put her clothes in the wardrobe, hanging them all up ready for the upcoming weeks, putting her tights, socks and underwear in the set of drawers in the room. She was very happy when she saw the ensuite bathroom. She began to draw a bath as she felt she needed a bit of a cleanse after that long car ride.

A little knock on the door, and Kiera popped her head out of the bathroom and saw Rouge. "Hi." She smiled at her, and motioned her to come in.

Rouge walked over to her. "Hey, all settled in?"

"Yeah, I am. Just making a bath before bed." She told her.

Rouge sat down on the end of her bed. "Shadow told me you know about why we are really in Cedar Falls."

Kiera leant against the door frame. "I only know of it but I figured that you pushed the idea into Amy's head about a cute little holiday." Rouge laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, basically."

She looked back to check on the running water into her bath. "You don't need to worry, I won't spill the beans on the others."

"Thanks for the discretion." Kiera nodded.

Another knock on her door, it was Shadow. "Um, just checking on you."

Kiera laughed. "Looks like I'm famous tonight, and I'm okay, Shadow." He nodded.

"Goodnight then, see you two in the morning." He smiled slightly at them both he left to go downstairs to his own bedroom.

Rouge gets up from the end of her bed. "I'll leave you to your bath. Sleep well, Kiera." She headed to her bedroom door.

"You too." Kiera said with a smile, closing the door behind Rouge.

She walked into the bathroom, checked the temperature of the bath. It was near perfect but it will do. She undressed and slipped into the bath with all foam bubbles she could ask for. She slid down into the water, submerging her face in.

 _There goes day one. It was quite tame to begin with par from my little truthful moment in the minivan with Shadow. It's always the calm before the storm as they say._

 _I really did need that bath though._


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

 _This is the first proper day in Cedar Falls was tame by my standards. I know the drill with these agent types. Shadow and Rouge were playing it cool by saying they were going to head into town to have a look around but I know better. Some bullshit mission. I mean, a very important mission. I wanted to have a look around the town anyway to get my bearings for where I am staying for basically a whole month._

 _To remind you, remember that this is my story to tell so you will only see my side of the weeks to come. Some people will tell you their side on what happened, and force their opinion you but all I am doing is informing you on what built up what might as well have been Pompeii._

 _Let's get this show on the road, shall we?_

 ** _DAY TWO_**

10:34am.

Kiera stared at the numbers printed on her phone screen, her eyes felt heavy and in the need for more sleep but she needed to keep her sleeping pattern in check. She sat up her bed, pushing her back up against the headboard. She took a moment to evaluate where she was and what the plan was for today. She wiped the sleep out of her eyes, groaning as she lifted herself out of the bed and strolled to her wardrobe. She wanted to get out of the house even though she has only seen her bedroom and bathroom of the house. Kiera wanted to have a good walk around where she will be situated for at least five weeks or so.

She pulled black skinny jeans, a grey long sleeved shirt she stole from Shadow (the bagginess is real), a camouflage army jacket and her favourite converse. She did take her time to head downstairs. She wasn't feeling the mood for breakfast this morning, she knew Shadow wouldn't be happy to hear that she would be skipping the first meal of the day but he must live with it. It's her decision, after all.

She reached the ground floor of the house but stopped before the kitchen and dining room. Voices emitted from those rooms, and she just eavesdropped basically. "So, what are you up today?" Cream's soft and gentle voice chimed into their conversation.

From what she could make out, it sounded as if Amy was washing the dishes. "Rouge said she was going to take along around the town, and I read that they have a museum on the history here so I thought we could all join them on the little trip into town."

"Oh, that sounds fun." Cream cheered, getting all excited.

Kiera stopped her eavesdropping and headed for the front door to the house, but she was spotted. "Where are you off to?" She turned and saw Sonic leaning against the wall, acting all smug.

"A walk, and wipe that smirk off your face before I do it." She playfully glared at him.

He replaced that smirk with a shit-eating grin. "Touchy, this morning, are you? Join us on our trip to town then."

She would have decked him right then and there for being cheeky but she promised to behave for Amy. She rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed by his mere presence. "Fine." She murmured.

"I'll wait on the porch." She added as she left the house, taking a seat on a sweet old white rocking chair.

Kiera waited a good five or so minutes before everyone came crashing out of the house. She stood up from the rocking chair. "We good to go?" She asked, putting her hands in her jacket pockets.

"Yeah, we taking the minivan?" Tails motioned over to the vehicles.

Kiera shook her head. "I want to walk." She was prepared to walk all the way on her own if the others wanted to take the minivans. She didn't want to spend every waking minute with them, everyone needs some time to themselves from time to time.

"That sounds great, a long walk could do us all good." Amy agreed.

It was settled, walking all the way to town it is. The walk wasn't in silence like Kiera wanted but it was still pleasant nonetheless. She slowed down her walking pace and matched it with Shadow's, she decided to break the silence between them.

"I didn't eat breakfast." Simple, but effective. For him, anyway.

Kiera wouldn't have thought his head spun round that fast and the look of disappointment didn't really help. "For god's sake, Kiera. You have to eat." He groaned, quite frustrated.

He dragged his hands down his face. "Kiera, you have to promise me something while we're here." Shadow looked over at her with his famous 'serious' face on.

"What is it?"

He took a beat to breathe. "Promise me, Kiera, you will eat every meal of the day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner."

She would have asked why but she had a very good idea. He cares for her health, he doesn't want to lose her at all. Not like how he lost Maria. "I promise."

He looked genuinely surprised that she agreed so easily, he figured that she would have put up some sort of fight. "What? Really?"

"Yes, really. Do you want it written in stone?" She smirked, shaking her head and walking ahead resuming her original pace.

Rouge patted Shadow on the back. "I'll take her to the nearest café." He smiled and gave her a small nod, thankful that she could look out for Kiera while he continued with the mission given to them.

Sonic overheard their little conversation and came up with an idea. "How about Rouge takes Kiera to a café and they can meet us at the museum later?"

Rouge nodded. "How does that sound?" She called up to Kiera whom was walking on ahead.

"I don't care!"

 _How lovely_ , Rouge thought as they continued their walk to town. When they reached the two of Cedar Falls, it was quiet and quite quaint for it being the middle of the day. They imagined it would rather busy as it is the weekend. There are a few people walking around, going in and out of shops but it still felt unnatural. The couples and Shadow went off to the museum while Kiera and Rouge headed to find a café.

Kiera almost believed that she was standing in a graveyard, it was too eerie and unnerving even for her. She felt on edge just standing outside a cute little bakery. _There is something not right at all in this town_ , she thought as she directed her attention on Rouge and following her towards a pastel blue café.

The two of them sat down opposite each other at a table once Kiera had ordered some breakfast food. The silence between them was deafening. Kiera broke it with only way she knew how.

Blunt, brutal and full of honesty.

"So, what are you up to with the mission?" Kiera asked before she took a bite out of her jam on toast.

Rouge glanced around the room before returning to face her. "An artefact was stolen from the museum."

Her face was blank, and blinked a couple of times. "What's so important about an artefact?"

"Classified."

Her eyes narrowed. "Of course, it bloody is."

"Finish your food and we can head to the museum." Kiera nodded and wolfed down all her food.

Leaving the café, Kiera still felt the same as she did when she first stepped foot into this town. Spine-chilling, sinister and alarming. Nothing felt right with her but Amy and Cream were loving it here. It was the exactly the opposite from what the girls were used to. It was always the adventure, loud and noisy atmosphere of their home town but in Cedar Falls it was almost an alternate universe.

Kiera figured the museum will be just the same. Just creepy as hell. Even the building of the museum disconcerting. She took a deep breath and headed into the building with Rouge. It felt worse in there. She had no idea where to look or where to go, so she just followed Rouge around the place like a puppy as she went looking for the couples and Shadow. Kiera had thought that Shadow would have pealed himself from the lovebirds to find out more information on this missing 'artefact' of theirs.

"There you are!" Rouge smiled happily as saw Amy and Cream looking at what was rusted female jewellery

Cream looked up from the glass encased artefacts, turning her attention to Rouge and Kiera. The two walked on over to the girls and focused on what exactly they were looking at. "They must have been pretty decent back in the day." Rouge commented on the broken ancient jewellery.

"They might have been." Kiera muttered, and saw the empty spot beside the jewellery. _The stolen artefact they're after_ , she thought. Her eyes narrowed at the glass in front of her face.

There was a reflection watching her in the glass. There was a pair of brown eyes boring into the back of her head. The reflection showed an elderly woman just watched her every move. The other girls didn't notice a thing. The old woman didn't even blink an eye when Kiera was watching her reflection, it was disturbing and distressing to say the least.

Kiera had enough of the incessant and troubling staring from the old woman, she turned to face the woman from across the room. Her auburn eyes widened as there was no one there behind her or in the room at all expect for the three other girls. She was just stood there, looking around the room for this elderly woman. Amy saw her searching the room like she was lost with nowhere to go.

"Kiera, are you okay?" Amy softly took hold of her hand, concerned about what happened to her.

She cleared her throat, looking franticly around the room. "Yeah, yeah, I'm okay."

 _That ends right there as we met up with boys and then we skipped back to the house holding hands, and making daisy chains. I did, kind of, raid the liquor cabinet that night as well and that probably wasn't the best idea at all but the staring from that old woman and that 'classified' mission bullshit really fucked me up._

 _Hopefully, the next few days wouldn't be as weird as that day was but who am I kidding? Nothing is ever normal with this lot._


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

 _Okay, firsts things first, I shouldn't have raided that liquor cabinet that night. That was the first thing I began to regret about this whole 'holiday' I was dragged onto. Although, I did learn one thing about Cedar Falls from the last day or two is to remember where the hell you were going._

 _So far, I'm not really enjoying this so-called holiday especially with a raging hangover but that's my fault._

 _Let's start this, shall we?_

 ** _DAY THREE_**

Groaning, Kiera woke up with thunder and lightning kicking off in her head. She still had all her memory from last night, the alcohol didn't strip her from that luxury. She did remember that she passed out drunk on the sofa in the living room last night. One of the lads must have carried her all the way up to her bedroom. She figured it was Shadow, he always looked after her even when she gets shit-faced drunk.

She drove herself to the liquor cabinet to vent whatever she was feeling about her trip to town, to the museum and especially the old woman. She was confused and conflicted within herself. She had no idea what this meant at all, specifically when she went to confront the woman about her freakish staring. It really fucked her up when the elderly woman wasn't even there.

She didn't even want to think about it with fireworks cracking around her skull. She got out of her bed and headed straight to the bathroom. Twisting the taps, she sat on the edge of the bath as the hot water filled the porcelain tub. She didn't even know what time of day it was, she could've missed breakfast and broke her promise to Shadow. Kiera removed her pyjamas and slid into the hot bath.

Now, that she was laying there staring at the ceiling she had no other choice than to reflect upon the previous day. She would always feel uneasy when stepping into that town, and that museum and she is genuinely surprised she didn't feel this way about the house. The house wasn't touched by that, it was sat in a secure bubble from whatever Cedar Falls was emitting. Kiera felt safe in her bedroom, more than she ever did back in Mobius (she obviously wouldn't tell Shadow that).

The elderly woman just kept popping up in her head. The woman's face is just carved itself into Kiera's mind, and it was just a reflection that she saw on a glass screen at a museum. She considered it was just her mind playing tricks on her due to her sleep schedule before getting her stuff together to leave for Cedar Falls. She was conflicted on whether she should tell Shadow about her seeing things that couldn't possibly exist. She could just picture him sitting next to her, being all soft and sensitive and trying to justify what she saw with logic and reason. Just imagining that annoyed her.

The more she lay in the bath the more she worked herself up over everything so she gradually pulled herself out of the tub, dried and put yesterday's skinny jeans and a big black NASA jumper before heading down all the floors to the kitchen.

She made herself two slices of toast and ignored everyone in the room while doing so. She buttered her toast when it popped of the toaster. Placing the toast on a plate, she sat at the kitchen island table. After a few bites, she looked up from her plate to see the two secret agents.

"Are you proud of me, Shadow? I'm having breakfast." There was a sly little smirk on her face as she said that.

He smiled at her. "Yes, I am."

"If I put on weight because of this promise I made, I'm coming for you." She playfully glared at him.

Rouge beat Shadow to it. "You're beautiful, Kiera, and you know it."

Kiera stared at them both for a moment or two. "That's enough sentimental crap, I'm heading out for the day." She said as she stuffed the rest of the toast into her mouth, getting up as she stood up.

"I'll go with you." Shadow offered.

Rouge followed suit. "Me too."

Kiera rolled her eyes, and not in the cheeky, playfully way at all. She was very annoyed again. "I don't need a babysitter. I'll call you later." She just wanted to be alone for once and with no one hovering over her.

Kiera left the kitchen and the house. She followed the pathway that she took with the others the day before. She was dreading even stepping into town, she knew she was going to feel exactly how she felt yesterday and she was right. As she stepped foot into town she felt the eeriness return. She knew what standing in a graveyard and cemetery felt like and this was it. _What the hell is wrong with this town?_ She thought as she walked her way towards the museum just to find out what she saw wasn't what she saw (it made sense to her).

She paused in her tracks as she saw that there was literally no one in town. All the shops were shut and closed. Nothing felt right and it got worse when she saw the old woman staring at her from the other side of the street. The woman's black eyes met hers, and they didn't blink at all.

The woman was real.

She had to be real.

The woman starts walking the opposite direction of the museum, where Kiera first saw her, and Kiera wasn't going to stop until she found out what the hell this meant and why she was staring at her. She needed answers and right now. She follows the woman and quickened her pace from a calm walk to a frantic jog after this woman.

Kiera felt like a whip-it running after a wooden rabbit around a track. The woman left the town and went into the nearest woods. Kiera kept her eyes on the woman and trusted her legs to do the rest. There were twists and turns, going under and over fallen trees, rocks and river beds. She felt like she was tailing this woman for hours on end.

It was getting dark out and fast. This wasn't looking good for her. Her phone vibrated in her pocket a couple of times but ignored it as some things were more important to her than a phone call at that moment. She had a feeling that it was Shadow or Rouge as she did tell them that she would call but that isn't on her mind right now.

She slid under a tree, stood up and everything fell apart for her. The old woman disappeared without a trace, no foot prints. Nothing. Kiera took a few deep breaths, trying to control her anger.

"No. No. No!" She screamed out all the frustration this had brought her.

Kiera kicked the nearest tree stump to her, and growled under her breath at the pain she brought on herself. "For fuck's sake." She snarled.

Something about the tree stump caught her eye. She took a step closer and took a proper long look at it. The tree stump has been carved out like a bowl, what looked like professionally done, along with unrecognisable markings inside, around and on the rim of the tree stump. With all this curiosity, confusion and mixed anger it just hit her that she had no bloody idea where she was at all.

Her breathing quickens as she begins to panic. She doesn't remember at all where she came, she was too focused on the elderly woman to think about where she was going. She pulled out her phone and quickly rang up Shadow.

He answered the phone straight away, he must have been waiting by his phone for it. " _Kiera? Are you okay_?"

She took a deep breath and calmed herself. "Not really."

" _What's happened_?" Shadow sounded so concerned for her, it still annoys her even though she needs him right now.

Another deep breath. "I got lost in the woods and I don't know how to get back." So much of her pride was lost and shame filled that gap.

" _Alright, alright. Calm down, Kiera. Do you see a landmark?_ " He asked and she was thankful he didn't take the piss out of her. Well, he wouldn't have anyway. He cares.

She glared at nothing. "I'm in the middle of a damned forest, Shadow. What landmark? There is only trees and dirt!" Kiera didn't even consider telling him about the weird tree stump bowl or even the creepy old woman that's obsessed with her just yet.

" _Find your way back to town-._ "

She cut him off. "I wouldn't be on the bloody phone with you if I knew where the hell I was, Shadow."

" _If you let me get a word in then I would have said to use the compass on your phone and follow north west._ " She went silent so he continued.

" _I'll pick you up outside that café you went to in town_." She hated that town so much.

Kiera thanked Shadow and then ended the call with him, she pulled up the compass app on her phone and went into the direction he told her to go in. The sick feeling, she felt in the town came back to her and then she saw Shadow leaning against the minivan. She walked over to him with dirt and mud painted on her converse and the bottoms of her skinny jeans.

"What happened to you? You're covered in mud. How did you even get lost in the first place?" He was genuinely surprised to get the call telling him that she was lost. She had great special awareness so she never got lost even in new towns.

She didn't say anything and just got into the minivan. He hopped into the driver's seat and drove out of the town, and back to the house. They both remained in silence the whole duration of the car journey.

She jumped out of the vehicle and headed straight for the house, and wanted to make a dash for her bedroom in the attic but she couldn't do that. Shadow took her arm, stopping her from running away from her problems. She stared down at him.

"What happened?" He asked with such a gentle tone to his voice, it almost sickened her. Almost.

She held her own. "It doesn't matter."

"It does." He had a point.

"What is going on with you, Kiera?" He added, with the same tone in his voice but along with his serious face on.

She demanded but her voice was cracking, emotion was seeping through. "Drop it." She was fucked.

"What happened in the museum?"

 _How in the hell did he know about that? I told no one!_ She thought to herself. "Just drop it, it's none of your business." She tried again and failed.

"It is my business, you're my business."

Kiera knew everyone was eavesdropping on them as she wasn't stupid at all. The next thing she said was something she would regret for possibly the rest of her time here or the rest of her life.

"I am not Maria, do not treat me like her."

 _And on that bombshell, that's the end of day three in Cedar Falls. I probably shouldn't have said that at the time, and I knew what Maria means to him. I might as well have just punched him in the face and kicked him in the balls. I regret what I said to him but it was something I had to get off my chest for a long time even if I went the wrong way about it. I wanted to be alone._

 _Bloody hell, wasn't this supposed to be a vacation?_


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

 _I hate myself. Hell, I might even loathe myself for what I said to Shadow. It was too harsh and it hurt him. I'll try and make it up to him, apologise profusely with a little show of the waterworks might sway him a little in my favour even if I don't deserve it. I needed to talk to him even if he didn't want to talk to me but I had no idea how to piece my words together. I won't want to botch it at all. I want to mean every word and hopefully he would forgive me for what I said._

 ** _DAY FOUR_**

Kiera woke up in her bed with the biggest feeling of regret and guilt that she had every experienced. She just felt full of remorse because of it. She wanted to stay in bed all day, stewing in a cloud of shame. More of that came on when she realised she broke Shadow's promise. She didn't eat breakfast and she was about to miss lunch as well. She wasn't doing so good in that department.

Ever since they drove into Cedar Falls, she felt every single part of her become darker. Kiera believed she was in a deep funk and she couldn't feel happy at all. She was annoyed, angry and exhausted by everyone and everything in her path. She didn't even know why she felt this way. She didn't know if she was just a miserable bitch or the town was affecting her in a way she couldn't explain.

The old woman kept playing on her mind. She saw her twice now and that had to mean something. She had to be real, or she was just losing the plot. She's been leaning towards the latter lately.

The tree stump was just as confusing as everything else was. It looked like a bowl to her, it could have even looked like a cauldron – it was big enough to be one but she wouldn't cook anything in it. There were markings all over the tree stump. She had no idea what all of that meant, it was no language she had ever heard or seen of before. All she knew was that she was the only one that was experiencing this and she had no idea why she was the only one.

She wanted and needed answers.

 _I hate this town,_ she thought angrily as she pictured everything that happened to her in the last four days.

She focused on the tree stump. The symbols confused and intrigued her to the max. An idea came to her and now she had to put a brave face on and pushed herself out of her bed, not caring for her attire, heading downstairs. She met Amy, Tails and Cream when she walked into the living room.

"Do you where I could hijack a notepad and a few pens?" Kiera did this quite gently as she knew quite well that they all heard her tear Shadow a new one.

Cream gets up from her seat with a gentle smile. "I'll get them for you."

Amy went off to the kitchen and soon returned with a BLT sandwich on a plate. "Here, you need to eat."

She takes the sandwich from her. "Thanks."

Cream shuffled back into view, her innocent smile still plastered on her face. "Here you go, can I ask what you're up to?"

"Drawing."

Amy honestly thought that drawing could help her vent her emotions out instead of spitting it at Shadow while she is on the edge.

"I'll see you guys later. Thanks for this." She thanked them again before heading back up to her bedroom in the attic. She was glad she had her bedroom out of the way of everyone else. She wasn't a people person and she was genuinely surprised that they care about her after everything she has done.

Kiera closed the door behind her, walked to the desk in her room. She gently set the plate of food down on the desk and the notepad with the pens. She took a seat at the desk, opened the note pad and pulled the cap of a pen. She began to sketch out the markings that she could remember from what she saw in the forest before the old woman vanished without a trace.

She leant back and munched on the BLT that Amy gave to her and stared at the sketches of the markings she saw yesterday. A knock on her door made her jump a little but she wouldn't tell the person that was behind the door that.

"Who is it?" She called out.

"Shadow." His voice was small and gentle.

She paused before answering him, she was ready for this. "Come in."

So, he did. He came into her bedroom and closed the door behind him. "Can we have a talk?" She nodded and got up from her chair and sat down on her bed with him. Kiera wanted to be somewhere comfortable for this and the bed was perfect for it.

Shadow sat beside her on the bed, and the deafening silence began. _Please, just say something. Yell at me, please. I deserve it._ She thought full of panic. "About what you said yesterday-"

She interrupted him right then and there. "I am so sorry. I shouldn't have said that at all. I don't know what came over me! I just got so angry and I honestly don't know where it came from – I'm so sorry, Shadow." As Kiera rambled out her apology to Shadow with her heart on her sleeve. She meant every single word. It came from the heart and that brought out the waterworks.

There were tears sliding down her cheeks. Her emotions have overwhelmed her and everything fell apart. Shadow pulled her straight into his arms, holding her close as she cries. He forgave her straight away. He hated it when she was sad, especially when she cries her eyes out.

"Hey, hey. It's okay, shh." He rubbed her back in circular motions to try and calm her down.

He just wanted to hold until the pain went away. "What happened?" He asked her gently. He wanted to know what was happening with her and why she was acting the way she was. She knew she had to tell him about the old woman creeping her out but she wanted to figure all of that on her own.

She'll give her a taste of her insanity. "My mind is playing tricks on me and I don't know what to do anymore." It wasn't false, she could be possibly going insane for all she knows.

He holds her tighter towards his chest, he didn't want her to feel this way. He hated seeing her like this. He thought this trip to Cedar Falls would have done her some good but it happened to have done the exact opposite to what he had hoped for. He wanted to see her smile and laugh again, he would do anything to see that again.

Shadow gently threaded his fingers through her hair. "Are you okay now?"

She sniffled and nodded a 'yes'. "I'm good." She mumbled.

"Are you going to come down?" He wanted her to hang out with the others and socialise, he thought that she would feel better.

She shook her head. "I'm going to have a nap but I'll come down for dinner." Kiera knew he would be happy about that.

He smiled and placed a kiss on her forehead before getting up and heading for the door. He stopped when he heard her voice. "Do you forgive me?"

"Water under the bridge, Kiera. Enjoy your nap." He left and she wasn't going to crawl back into her bed just yet, she had other plans in mind.

Kiera went back to her notepad and sketched out every single marking she could remember. One symbol on one piece of paper at a time. Once she finished drawing them out, she brought them to her bed. Page by page she put them in the order she saw them in on the tree stump bowl.

She had them all nearly in the correct order that she remember from in the woods when she spotting something off in the corner of her eye. Kiera paused at what she was doing right then and there. Dropping the pieces of paper on the bed, she walked towards the window. Her heart basically dropped at the sight. The old woman was back and staring straight up at her.

Kiera tore out of her bedroom and zig-zagged down the stairs, and rushed to the double-glazed window in the living room. Everyone was staring at her like they were watching someone walk a cat by a lead. Kiera franticly looked at them. "Don't you see that?" She quickly got angry and exhaustion at them, at herself and at everything.

She ran out of the living room and darted out the house. The old woman disappeared again. Kiera screamed and yelled all her frustration, anger and irritation. The others came onto the porched and watched her cry out all her rage. They were staring at her like a circus animal.

Sonic pulled his eyes from her and whipped them to Shadow. "She's gone cuckoo for cocoa puffs."

Shadow glared at him. "She is losing her marbles, Shadow." He was serious that time, there was something wrong with that girl.

Kiera knelt to the floor, finding a rusted bracelet on the floor whereabouts the old woman vanished. The bracelet band was carved with the same markings as the tree stump she found in the forest.

Shadow walked over to her and she twisted her body to him, not showing the bracelet, she rose to face him. "How could you not see her?"

"See who?"

"The old woman."

 _That's it._

 _I spilt the beans about me seeing that crazy old woman to Shadow, and the rest of them. There are no secrets in that house, everyone finds out everything. I know what they thought of me in that moment. They thought I was going insane by seeing these things but they justified it and said I needed food and a tonne of sleep. Maybe, I have been losing sleep since I came into his god forsaken town but I know this is real._

 _I promise you._


End file.
